Itís been far too long since I have put my stamp on this wonderful website. Without further ado, letís get to it. I have a few things to say to some people.

To Brad Marchand,

You are far too good of a player to be this big of a jerk. You have the skills to be talked about with the likes of Kesler and Datsyuk as one of the best 2-way players in the game. Unfortunately, you tarnish your image with your reckless play. In the illustrious words of Dave Coulier of Full House fame, ďCut, it, out!Ē

To Alex Ovechkin,

Find your game. With Sid on shelf the NHL needs you. Washington needs you. Russia needs you. Itís your time to show the world that you are more than a shoot first, gap toothed goofball. You can take this whole league down. Be like Nike and just do it.

To Alain Vigneault,

Shut up. You, your team, and the people in Vancouver are the only one who cares what you say. You are such a whiner and embellisher. You make it so easy to hate the Canucks. Err, I mean easier. Alex Burrows and Max Lapierre make it easy to hate the Canucks.

To Dustin Penner,

Be careful when you have your waffles tomorrow. I would hate to see you pull a groin on top of your back injury. Best injury ever.

To Brendan Shanahan,

Keep it up. If you canít convince people, hit them with a hammer until they get it. Keep swinging that hammer.

To Brian Burke,

I appreciate you so much more when you are not in the media every other day. Your latest comments about enforcers in the NHL are valid and so much easier to agree with when you are not in the media every other day like AV complaining. Keep it up.

To Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Jordan Eberle,

Get well soon. I fear your absence might mean another #1 pick. Has there ever been a team to get the #1 pick three straight years?? Iím not sure Iíd want that distinction.

To the World Junior Hockey Championship,

Thanks for a great couple of weeks. I had a chance to enjoy the festivities in Edmonton and it changed my mind about the tournament. It is more than just a tournament when itís in Canada. Itís a part of our Canadian culture that you have to experience to appreciate. If you have never had a chance to participate in the WJC in person you must immediately put it on your bucket list.

To Donald Fehr (NHLPA President),

Get ready, because I donít think you have any idea what is in store for you. Your ill-advised shot over the bow at the NHL by rejecting their realignment idea will be your downfall at the negotiating table. Say what you will about Gary Bettman but one thing is for certain; the man does not lose a fight. He has not lost a fight in 20+ years. He has beaten millionaire, billionaires, the NHLPA on multiple occasions, and the US legal system. He will shut down the league and not think twice about it to win. He will keep the NHL players out of the Sochi Olympics to win. There were far better ways to show your strength. Not only do you have the NHL brass more than a little cross, but you have all those team owners that were looking forward to better(and cheaper) travel schedules are not happy either.

Big mistake. Mark my words, you will pay for that. Unfortunately, as a fan of the NHL, I will also be paying for your mistake.

See you next time.

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Loved most of this post. The last point I liked the most about the next CBA. This will definately be the hardest fought point the League will drive home. I dont see how a great portion of the players and owners agreed to realignment and the NHLPA felt the need to block this proposal. I may have thought there was weak points in this proposal, but it was sure a hell of a lot better than the current alignment of conferences. Bettman is gonna make a whipping boy of the NHLPA over this.

Guest6042 ( )

Posted - 01/19/2012 : 08:29:34

Someone needs to explain to me how the NHLPA vetoed it!!! If my employer decides to move the office to another location, I may get some input in terms of parking costs etc, but I can't veto it. As soon as Donald Fehr said no, Bettman should have said, well, that's nice, but we're moving anyway. Now what are you going to do, Mr. Fehr??

Hey guest, it's call a labour union. It's no different than in real life when a union is involved. There are fundimental operational items where a union has some say. It all depends on the collective bargining agreement. If the provision states that the NHLPA has the right to refuse realignment and/or schedule changes, that's the rule.